Timeline of Alexandre Dairy Investigation

Week of April 29, 2024:

• Certified Humane appears to have delisted Alexandre Family Farms from its list of “Producers who are Certified Humane.”

Week of April 22, 2024:

• Farm Forward informs Whole Foods Market of the investigation’s findings and asks them to drop Alexandre Family Farm products.
• Farm Forward informs Alec’s Ice Cream of the investigation’s findings and asks them to drop Alexandre as a supplier.
• Farm Forward informs Serenity Kids of the investigation’s findings and asks them to drop Alexandre as a supplier.
• Farm Forward informs Cheddies Crackers of the investigation’s findings and asks them to drop Alexandre as a supplier.
• Farm Forward informs Rumiano Cheese of the investigation’s findings and asks them to drop Alexandre as a supplier.
• Farm Forward informs Once Upon a Farm of the investigation’s findings and asks them to drop Alexandre as a supplier.

April 19, 2024:

• Farm Forward learns that all Alexandre products have been removed from the ASPCA’s Shop With Your Heart list following the publication of our investigation.
• Farm Forward is notified that all Alexandre products have been dropped from FindHumane.com.
• Although Farm Forward submitted a complaint to Humboldt County Farm Bureau on Monday April 15, requesting a timely response, by 5pm PDT Friday April 19 Farm Forward had still received no reply from the Humboldt County Farm Bureau.
• Alec’s Ice Cream, which relies on Alexandre dairy, appears to have taken down and removed from its site navigation its Our Impact page, which claimed that regenerative farming “improves the lives of animals,” that its products are “positively changing our planet for a better future,” and that Alexandre is “proving that cows actually help reverse climate change.”
• Whole Foods Market appears to have taken down its Restarting Dairy page, which referred to the Alexandres as “environmental stewards,” proudly noted that “Whole Foods Market has been working with the Alexandres for over a decade,” and included a video showing hundreds of calf hutches in which Alexandre admits isolating baby cows for months—with no relief and no ability to set one foot outside—as its standard practice.

April 15, 2024:

• Farm Forward files a standards complaint about Alexandre Family Farm with California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF).
• Farm Forward submits a complaint about Alexandre to the Humboldt County Farm Bureau.
• Farm Forward reaches out to Certified Humane to discuss abuse and neglect of cows managed by Alexandre.
• Farm Forward submits a complaint to California Veterinary Medical Association about animal mistreatment and allegations that Alexandre staff routinely practiced veterinary medicine without a license, including sawing fully grown horns off cows without pain management.
• Farm Forward asks the California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) to revoke Blake Alexandre’s membership in CDFA’s Regenerative Organic Work Group.
• Farm Forward requests that the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) investigate Alexandre’s violations of organic standards, and whether CDFA investigated Alexandre adequately after NOP received a whistleblower complaint about organic dairy cows who were “sick, could barely walk, were extremely thin, mistreated, and full of lungworm.”

April 12, 2024:

• The Atlantic publishes a comprehensive investigative piece of Alexandre’s operations, citing Farm Forward’s report throughout
• Farm Forward asks Alexandre Dairy to acknowledge problems in the dairy industry and work for change.
• Farm Forward files a cruelty complaint with the Humboldt County Sheriff.
• Farm Forward files a water quality complaint with the California Coastal Commission.

April 11, 2024:

• Farm Forward releases report, “Dairy Deception: Corruption and Consumer Fraud at Alexandre Family Farm.”

March 12, 2024:

• Farm Forward receives an email from Alexandre Dairy, likely attempting to delay the publishing of the report.

March 8, 2024:

• Late morning: Farm Forward receives an intimidating “lawyer letter” from Alexandre’s legal counsel, Davis Wright Tremaine, a law firm that regularly represents big dairy.
• Early morning: Farm Forward is informed that information was accidentally leaked to Alexandre, tipping them off to the pending report.

January–March, 2024:

• Multiple whistleblowers continually provide Farm Forward evidence of ongoing systematic nontreatment of sick and injured animals at Alexandre Dairy.

December, 2023:

• Farm Forward staff verify at a California cattle auction that sick, emaciated cattle with egregious untreated or inadequately treated conditions are being sold at auction by Alexandre Dairy.

June–Dec 2023:

• Multiple whistleblowers provide hundreds of videos, hundreds of photos, and more than a dozen affidavits.

January–May 2023:

• Multiple whistleblowers come forth verifying and expanding original allegations.

December 2022:

• First whistleblower approaches Farm Forward with uncorroborated complaints about Alexandre Family Farm (Alexandre Dairy). At first Farm Forward doubts the credibility of the complaint.